Articles

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine May 2005, Volume 39, Number 11 It was me and John and Paul, the best friends you ever saw.  The lyrics from a new Harley Allen composition, released last February on the Grascals’ Rounder Records debut, is the poignant story of three friends who stick together—and stick up for each…

Based in Parkersburg, West Virginia, Buck McCumbers heads a band called “Buck and Company,” but for this release he gathered together some different players and renamed the band “The Hillbillies.” Included in the studio are McCumbers (mandolin, vocals), Eric Chichester (guitar, vocals), Dodd Walker (bass, vocals), Rick Ellis (banjo, guitar), Hunter Lemon (fiddle), and brother…

A short while I ago, I interviewed Jerry Douglas for BU about his induction into the IBMA Hall of Fame and in a side conversation that did not make the article, we talked about one of the things he tried to bring to the genre other than musicianship, and that was the desire to produce…

Virginia native Rebecca Frazier is a first-rate singer and flatpicker with lightning fast fingers and a sweet, sultry voice that’s utterly captivating.  On her new Compass Records release, Boarding Windows in Paradise, she really comes into her own with a clear vision as a songwriter and a renewed dedication to her vocal and flatpicking artistry. …

In the liner notes to this worthy 20-cut reissue on the Patuxent label, illustrious banjo master Alan Munde recalls buying and being bowled over with these recordings back in the early 1960s. “In these early performances Bill Emerson demonstrates all the things one looks for in a model of superb bluegrass banjo playing,” Munde writes….

A great writer, no matter what format, songs or stories will not only be able to turn a phrase in a way that catches your ear, but will use that skill to catch your heart as well. A great writer will more often than not remind you of what you already know, but do that…